Mouthing Off
By MICHAEL POLLAK
Mouthing Off
Q. Are there any limits to what I can say to a New York police officer?
A. It is a very bad idea to curse at a police officer, but it is not illegal by itself, a New York police spokesman and private lawyers agree.
Norman Siegel, a former executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, said that courts had ruled that a person cannot be arrested or given a summons just for swearing at an officer, however undesirable the language might be.
“It’s legally protected, and I advise people not to curse at anyone, including police officers, but if you do, it’s not grounds for an arrest,” Mr. Siegel said. Paul J. Browne, the police spokesman, concurred.
However, other lawyers noted, cursing at the scene of a disturbance might be considered part of a broader action that is illegal — for instance, threatening an officer, or inciting to riot, or refusing, with an expletive, to move when ordered. Obscenity accompanying some type of unlawful conduct might form the basis of a criminal charge. [NYT]
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Monday, January 19, 2009
Mouthing Off
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